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Android 7.1 To Roll Out To Nexus Devices in December; Preview Goes Out This Month (engadget.com)

Posted by msmash on from the android-delights dept.

Google said today it will roll out Android 7.1 to a range of Nexus devices -- including Nexus 6 -- later this year (December). A developer preview of Android 7.1 will be available to enthusiasts later this month. From an Engadget report: They also confirmed what 7.1 will bring to the table. Aside from Daydream VR support, most of the new features focus on giving developers more options to spruce up their apps' functionality. First, they can now make custom shortcuts, much like the ones popping up in iOS via 3D Touch. There's also support for image keyboards so users can insert stickers or GIFs within apps. For carriers and calling apps, 7.1 has APIs for multi-endpoint calling and telephony configuration. Lastly, developers can now route users to a Settings page to free up storage space by deleting unused files.

12 of 26 comments (clear)

  1. Stability and performance? by junner518 · · Score: 2

    I don't need more features. I want a functional tablet. Source: Have Nexus 9 that crashes almost daily after 7 update.

    1. Re:Stability and performance? by hawguy · · Score: 1

      I don't need more features. I want a functional tablet.

      Source: Have Nexus 9 that crashes almost daily after 7 update.

      And I don't want "stickers or GIFs" in my keyboard app -- in fact, I'd really like to drop the emoticon button from the keyboard and replace it with a more useful key.

    2. Re:Stability and performance? by dinfinity · · Score: 1

      Install another keyboard app. There are plenty of them.

  2. Including Nexus 6... by alexo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... but excluding Nexus 5, which does not get an update to Android 7 even though its hardware is perfectly capable of running it.

    Ain't planned obsolescence grand?

    1. Re: Including Nexus 6... by Lothsahn · · Score: 1

      There's actually a pretty good writeup on this: http://www.androidauthority.co...

      Basically, the TL;DR; version is that the most likely cause for Snapdragon 800/801 phones not getting Nougat is that they likely cannot pass the Android compatibility tests for Nougat for AES performance. They can't pass because the minimum specs are likely higher and they lack the necessary dedicated encryption hardware.

      Nobody wanted to point fingers at Google, but the evidence seems to implicate them. Google needs to relax the compatibility specs for upgrading existing devices. Any device which passed the specs at release for a previous Android release should be grandfathered in as much as possible. We have enough problems with Android fragmentation from carriers and manufacturers--Google needs to help, not hurt.

      --
      -=Lothsahn=-
    2. Re: Including Nexus 6... by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

      Not to mention Nexus 7 tablets, which also won't get the upgrade.

    3. Re: Including Nexus 6... by emag · · Score: 1

      Hell, I'm still waiting for 7.0 on my Nexus 6. My wife's Nexus 5X has already gotten a Nougat update (past the initial 7.0). My Nexus 7 2013 LTE last got the August security update to Marshmallow. I suspect that I'm going to have to start looking into alternative ROMs, especially because the Pixel line, which I was hoping to upgrade to, will cost me about $900 to get the storage and resolution I want at middling specs. I'd rather go 3rd party and use my N6 until it dies (hopefully not the way my N4 did, with a smashed screen).

      --
      "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." --H.L. Mencken
    4. Re: Including Nexus 6... by wbr1 · · Score: 1

      I have the N6 and have 7.0. I got it OTA, but if you don't want to wait get WUG nexus root toolkit. Unlock your bootloader and install the official ROM. It is really easy.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
  3. Re:Battery drain fix? by Lothsahn · · Score: 2

    I get better battery life on my Nexus 6 with Android 7 than before. Not much, mind you, but it's a little better.

    That said, there are some issues... Cell standby consumed 880 mAh with the radio active for 10s. Somehow, I think that's got to be wrong...

    I agree, though--the #1 thing I want is better battery life. And what's crazy is that I disabled the Google location services on my Nexus S and I get 4 DAYS of battery life between charges now (screen off nearly 100%). With Google Location services on, it only lasts ~6 hours. So I suspect Google itself is at fault for a lot of the battery drain.

    --
    -=Lothsahn=-
  4. Re:Battery drain fix? by jrumney · · Score: 2

    This happened to me the first day after updating my 6P. Then I booted into recovery and cleared the cache (after some research into possible solutions). Since then the battery has lasted all day. Still worse compared with 6.0.1, which would have lasted until about noon the next day if I'd gone without charging (7.0 is giving me battery warnings around midnight now), but acceptable for someone who basically just charges their phone overnight.

  5. Re:Battery drain fix? by jrumney · · Score: 1

    When I got 5 hours battery life after updating to 7.0, Google Services was in 3rd spot at 4%, behind Android OS at 10% and Android System at 55%. So yeah, Google themselves are very much at fault for the Android 7 battery drain issues.

  6. Re:Are permissions fixed yet? by Kkloe · · Score: 1

    permissions was fixed\implemented in 6, for phones not between 4.4.2 and 6 you can use app obs starter